9301093 Roy This is a Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) project. The major thrust of this proposed work is to combine the hydrothermal synthesis method with the microwave radiation processing in order to produce ceramic powders. Preliminary work showed that the combined processing conditions could reduce the processing reaction time by several orders of magnitude, as in the cases of hematite, barium titanate, and rutile. The proposed work intended to extend this method to synthesize other ceramic powders. %%% This Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) project plans to combine the method of hydrothermal synthesis with the microwave radiation processing in order to produce submicrometer sized ceramic powders. Preliminary work showed promise. If successful, this new processing method can drastically reduce the ceramic powder preparation time by several orders of magnitude. Shorter reaction time always means less time and possibilities for contaminations. ***
